For Her
by Daelena
Summary: Immediately following 7x07. Jaime Lannister may be called a turn cloak for going after the Dragon Queen, but a man who listens to his heart is one who will do the right thing in the end. Rated K for some swearing.


**For Her**

 _ **Disclaimer: I think it goes without saying, but I don't own a thing here. I'm merely playing in a sandbox and will return the toys as soon as I am done with them.**_

 ** _Note: Some swearing (including an f-bomb), if that's not your cup of tea._**

 _This is a little fluffy vignette that got stuck into my head after the Season 7 finale. The littler writer voices in my head wouldn't be at peace (for the moment) until I wrote this. I beg your forgiveness for any errors (grammatical or otherwise) on my end. They are entirely unintentional._

 _At any rate, I can only imagine what was going on in Jaime's head during the finale and this seemed just as logical as anything else. Plus, who doesn't enjoy it when your ship gets a moment, even if said moment is entirely created from your own mind. Besides, I think Brienne and Jaime should have had more time together than what we got in the finale. Well, thank god for fanfiction._

 _So please enjoy!_

The world was literally falling apart around them when he finally caught up with her somewhere between White Harbor and Winterfell on the Kingsroad. It had been a long journey to get there and he had traveled hard to be able to meet up with her after she had sailed away from King's Landing.

By all accounts, he was a turn cloak. He abandoned the sister he loved for years, the Queen he was sworn to serve. Whatever oaths of fealty and honor he might have sworn to the Dragon Queen or to the King in the North would be water written on wind to them. Neither one of them had any just cause to trust him. They didn't need to trust him. All that matter was that _she_ trusted him – and her word counted for something among the forces he was joining.

Her blue eyes were wide with surprise when he came riding to them under a white banner of truce bearing news from the south that none of them would be happy to hear.

It was by all grace of the gods, the old and the new, that he wasn't killed on sight – or imprisoned as a negotiation tool. But he would be a piss-poor hostage now. While she didn't have the heart to kill him by her own order, Cersei would never agree to barter for his safe return. His abandonment drove the final spike between them.

At any rate, the northward-marching army needed all the men they could get, even one-handed men, Jon had rationed and Daenerys hadn't challenged his argument, once Jon and Tyrion both pointed out the benefits of having a seasoned Westerosi military commander on their side.

Jaime wouldn't bend the knee, he told the Dragon Queen. Not right away. There were other things they had to deal with before they could determine political allegiances. But she could trust that he was here to help and that he wouldn't stab her in the back at the first opportunity, he told her. That didn't mean that Daenerys trusted him in the slightest. He was, after all, the man who murdered her father, mad as he was, and the title of Kingslayer wasn't an appellation that was lightly put aside. Still, it was as a (mostly) free man that he could walk among the army moving north.

It was Brienne's eyes, blue as the waters the appropriately-named Sapphire Isle, and not the frigid winter air that caused the breath to leave his lungs.

Jaime Lannister, once a Kingsguard, formerly the military commander for Queen Cersei, now a turncloak, could barely keep his wits about him as Brienne of Tarth, also formerly a Kingsguard, now a sworn sword to House Stark, approached him, Podrick trailing behind her by a few steps. Any semblance of a customary greeting or an apology for how he acted in the Dragonpit died on his lips as soon as she drew close to him.

For the briefest, barest of moments, he didn't know what to do or say. But then Brienne blinked and the only thing he could do was close the remaining distance between them and press a kiss, soft and chaste, to her lips, his one good hand reaching out to rest on her hip.

She didn't respond to the kiss, but she didn't pull away from his touch. As he drew back from the short kiss, Jaime could only imagine that that was her first kiss. The way her hand unconsciously fluttered up to her mouth, fingers pressing lightly against her lips, certainly gave credence to that summation. She blinked again, beautiful eyes focusing on him with such sharpness.

"Why?" she said at last, her voice small and fragile and so wonderfully open.

"Because you're you," he said with all honesty.

It didn't explain much, if anything at all, but it seemed to satisfy her. A smile quirked across her lips. Brienne wasn't that experiences in the affairs of the heart or in having someone show interested in her, but Jaime knew her well enough by now to know the question she would ask, if she knew how to form the words of it.

In time, he'll explain his reasons for leaving the capital and the state of affairs, as they were, when he left. In time, she'll know as much as Jon and Daenerys do about the promised forces that will never be delivered.

But for now, Jaime only leaned forward and kissed Brienne again, slowly enough to give her the time to respond appropriately but surely enough to let her know that he was offering her his full heart. When she slid an arm around his shoulder and pulled him to her, however awkwardly it was with both their armor, he knew that she had been just as desperate for this as he was.

The stupid grin that Podrick wore and the cheer (and jeers) of the army around them only made them both blush. Brienne ducked her head to hide her reddened cheeks. Jaime recovered enough to make some remark that diverted some attention away from them and, as was always the case, their audience lost most of their interest when it became clear that there would be no further follow-up kisses in public. Oh, there were a few choice comments when Jaime pulled Brienne away from the crowd to the privacy of her tent.

Later, he will tell her everything he had told Daenerys and Jon and more. After all, it had been her words to him, as he was leaving the Dragonpit with Cersei, that snapped him back into reality, had opened his eyes. Cersei's declaration that she wasn't going to honor her end of the treaty with the North and the Dragon Queen broke his heart, but, at last, it proved the doubt that had been growing in the back of his mind for months – years, in fact.

But, for now, they had more important things to do.

They had more privacy in her tent, once they arrived. Podrick, ever the dutiful squire, would have stood at attention outside, but Brienne dismissed him. The black-haired boy accepted that order with something that could have been mistaken for a smile.

And so, they were alone.

"I can't believe you left," Brienne said at last.

"Well," Jaime answered with a shrug, "I did." Her eyes searched his face for an answer. He lifted his hand to silence the question she was about to ask. "Brienne, you told me to fuck loyalty and I did." He exhaled. "I had to do the right thing."

"Because otherwise something bad would have happened?"

That got to the very heart of the thing.

Jaime had had a lot of time to think about what he had done and what he would say when he got here. It hadn't taken him very long to get to the heart of the situation and realize what was pushing him forward. Brienne deserved to know the truth.

Carefully, he reached his unmarred left hand out to her, palm up and fingers crooked just so, offering it to her. His heart leapt nearly into his mouth when she laid a hand in it. He watched in surprise as she reached over with her other hand to cup his golden hand, her fingers sliding up his wrist to where wood and gold ended and flesh began.

In this moment, Jaime couldn't bear to look away from Brienne. It would have been too tall an order to meet.

"I couldn't bear to know I had sent you to your death."

"Jaime–"

"Wench, listen to me," he said quickly, cutting her off. "I need to tell you. I need you to know. I – I fell in love with you and it took being around my sister to realize that what I felt for her and she for me wasn't love, not in the way I feel about you." She so desperately wanted to speak, to ask him questions. "Shit, I'm doing this all the wrong way."

"Jaime, stop," Brienne said with a dose of command in her voice that sent shivers down his spine. He blinked at last and was surprised to find tears in his eyes. When he focused again, he saw the little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You fell in love with me?"

"Yes. Gods, yes! Brienne, Lady Brienne of Tarth, I love you."

"Even I know you don't talk about your bitch of a sister when you tell someone you love them."

He laughed at last. "Ah, yes, sorry about that." Jaime bit his lip then asked, "So, now that I've put myself on the line, is there anything you'd like to tell me."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I love you too, you damnable idiot, if that's what you're looking for."

"Good. You know, I think I like hearing you curse."

"Shove off, Kingslayer."

Jaime gave her an almost-offended look and glanced briefly down at the way their hands were joined between them. "I would, but you haven't let me go."

Brienne's look was reproachful, but he didn't give her a chance to tell him off. Instead, Jaime Lannister kissed her again and Brienne of Tarth kissed him back.

And it was even better than the last one.

 _Well, that's my attempt at fluff. It wasn't much, but I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think! I appreciate all of the feedback._


End file.
